Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball should be untouchable in any trade

The Los Angeles Lakers are desperate to pair another star with LeBron James this summer. They should not trade Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball. No, not even for Anthony Davis.

A trade for the Los Angeles Lakers just seems like a bad idea right now.

Many in the organization already regret losing the services of Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Lou Williams, Brook Lopez, Ivica Zubac, and possibly a few others. Randle and Lopez weren’t traded, but they could have been kept on the team and continued to gel with the rest of the roster as they had been.

The remaining young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart should be considered the future of the Lakers, while still keeping them competitive enough in the present. The Lakers need some continuity with their players, and these guys have been learning each other’s tendencies for years already.

Brandon Ingram broke out after the All-Star break in 2019, averaging All-Star like stats and executing with newfound confidence until he went down for the season with a blood clot. Ingram could be that second star the Lakers want so badly.

Lonzo Ball is overlooked by many. His court vision, passing ability, and basketball IQ are quite impressive. His defense is extremely solid, and the team is much better defensively when he’s on the court. Although his jump shot has been a mess, it was starting to look much better right before he went down with an ankle injury. It looked like a simple boost in confidence got him over the mental hump necessary to be an effective scorer.

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When the Lakers have this young core that’s been playing well together for multiple seasons, it makes no sense to trade any of them considering the insanely talented free agency market this summer and the fact that they have the cap space to sign a max-level player like Kawhi Leonard or Kyrie Irving, or a guy like Jimmy Butler. One of these free agent additions, paired with LeBron James and the young core, would make the Lakers contenders again instantly.

The main reason it would be insane to give up so much for Davis is the fact that he will be a free agent next summer and has made it pretty obvious he wants to play for the Purple & Gold. So, if I’m the Lakers, I have LeBron James, a really good shot at signing another established star, and one of the best young cores in the league. Why would I give up these players in a trade for Anthony Davis when I can simply sign him as a free agent next summer?

They should keep the whole quartet of Ingram, Ball, Kuzma, and Hart. But this article is about how Ingram and Ball are too important to the team to be traded away.

After the All-Star break, Ingram averaged 28.4 pts, 7.6 boards, and 2.8 assists while shooting 58% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the 3-point line. He’s still so young. He could literally emerge as one of the best in the game at some point.

As for Lonzo Ball, he suddenly looked much more confident in every aspect of his game before the ankle injury. His jump shot was falling more often, he was driving to the basket with authority, and anchoring the defense.

Last year’s roster was a No. 4 seed in the Western Conference before the injuries started to take a serious toll. With a free agent acquisition and another year of growth from the young core, the Lakers could definitely contend next season.

So what do you think? Would it be better to have LeBron, Davis, and the best free agent they can get to form a “Big 3”? Or would it be better to keep the 4 young, extremely promising players, paired with LeBron, and the best free agent they can get?